OK, to summarize:
- We have historical evidence of Yemeni and ( especially) Omani Arabs living in Baluchistan and Baluchis living in Oman . Such exchange of population is a fertile ground for cultural and decorative exchange.
- We have Lotfy's testimonial that similar handles are seen in Oman even now, exclusively among the Baluch
- We have an old post here showing an identical handle on a shamshir, with excellent provenance to Baluchistan and Hyderabad
- We have a photograph of Baluchis carrying swords with identical handle
- We have unquestionable South Arabian decorative motives on the handles presented here.
What we are still missing, is the Indian example of a handle that could have served as a basis for the Arab silversmiths to apply their traditional decorations.
I would like to suggest, that the following purely Indian/Indo-Persian handles with a camel head with dulla might have fulfilled this function.
Pic is taken from the Robert Hales' book, p.229 ( ##561,562)
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